The Arts Junction

Bits and pieces about arts and culture events in the west-end neighbourhood known as the Junction Toronto, and about some cultural events coming up in the GTA. Hello and welcome to Our #JunctionTO Neighbourhood!

The Junction Residents Association presentsSixth Annual FundraiserFUNCTION in the JUNCTIONThis year's proceeds will go to the Annette Street Public Library, a cornerstone of our community that offers a welcoming space for readers and an inclusive variety of programs as well as community gathering space. Basic expenses for the library are paid for by our property taxes, so funds from the Function will go towards important resources not covered by municipal funding.When: Saturday, April 11, 2015Where: West Toronto Masonic TempleLocation: 151 Annette Street, Toronto, ON M6P 1P3(next to the Annette Public Library)Tickets: $45

WHY: Organized by the Junction Residents Association (JRA), the Function is a lively annual evening to share local food, drinks and music and raise money for a worthy neighbourhood cause. This year's proceeds will go to the Annette Street Public Library, a cornerstone of our community that offers a welcoming space for readers and an inclusive variety of programs as well as community gathering space.

WHEN: Tickets are on sale now. The event takes place Sat., April 11 starting at 6 pm.

HOW: Help us plan a great evening: buy your tickets soon. Tickets are $45 each and include a delicious 6 pm sit-down dinner made by local restaurants and served by firefighters from the Junction's very own Station 423. Silent-auction items are donated by a host of fabulous neighbourhood businesses. We'll have a live auction with cool items, too. Our cash bar is supported by Junction Craft Brewing and Toronto Distillery Co. And of course we’ll have live music by Junction artists to keep us all going into the wee hours. (Follow us on Twitter — @JunctionRA — to find out who is playing.)

Appetizer (you get two!)
Selection of organic breads with herbed butterSalad of organic mixed leaves and sunflower shoots, topped with a rosette of smoked salmon, garnished with fresh dill and capers served with a champagne dressing.

The first chapter looks at the Grand Duchess of Russia’s life in Canada, including the years she lived on Camilla Road in Cooksville. When she first arrived in Canada, she settled on a farm in Campbellville and in an amazing coincidence that brought two European families of note together in a remote farming community in Canada, she sold her Campbellville farm to Wolfgang Von Richthofen, the cousin of WWI German flying ace, the Red Baron. (And that’s just the first chapter!)

Junction Book is written by Junction–raised Ken Newton, his son - indie musician and impresario William New and his niece - political veteran - Ann Ball.

The novel, set in West Toronto Junction in 1951, is the tale of three private eyes working on the murder case of the Junction bookmaker's youngest son. The investigation of Al Green and Associates is recounted daily by each and the plot moves along through the telling.

In the 1950's, an estimated 1,000 Torontonians earned their living through sports bookmaking. One such operation was located on Dundas Street West.

Monday, January 19, 2015

The Junction will be participating in the Toronto Design Offsite Festival once again.Credit: www.thejunctionbia.ca

Toronto Design Offsite Festival

January 19-25, 2015The Junction will be participating in the Toronto Design Offsite Festival once again.

The fifth annual Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TODO) showcases the best in Canadian design at events across the city, from unexpected prototypes to immersive installations from January 19-25, 2015. Nearly one quarter of the exhibitions will be featured here in The Junction.

TO DO is a not-for-profit, independent design festival that aims to provide exposure for local and national designers. They also foster public understanding and knowledge of the practice of design and create an ongoing presence that promotes Canada’s creativity, drawing on great thinkers, practitioners, and educators to a deliver an innovative celebration of art and design. During the brisk Toronto winter they offer the best in installations, furniture, industrial design, conceptual design and more, to people from Toronto and beyond.

Festival week starts on Monday, but kick-it-off mid-week at the TO DO Opening Party at SMASH (2880 Dundas St W) in the Junction. Come and find out what the Festival is about, meet local designers, experience featured installations, and dance with the amazing community that makes this Festival happen. Live music by Das Hussy. Featured installation by LeuWebb Projects and live mural by Ben Johnston.

The fundraising event is not unlike those the WTJHS has hosted in the past. Junction “legends,” such as journalist A.B. Rice, first librarian Elizabeth MacCallum, chief coroner Dr. G.W. Clendenan, chief of police and first Mountie Josiah Royce and Rev T.E.E. Shore have made appearances at such events as 'The Wild Wild Junction' Ghost stories pub crawl.

Tall Tales of the Junction will be “like a pub crawl without the crawl,” said Ross, “because it’s winter.”

The Junction legends will again share their favourite stories while audience members will also be invited to share their own stories of the neighbourhood for a chance to win historical prizes.

The $20 admission fee will help the WTJHS continue to do its work, like advocating for the conservation of the neighbourhood’s built heritage. The event will include a presentation based on the most recent installment of the WTJHS’ graphic novel.

Admission includes snacks and a pint of ale from a Junction Craft Brewery special cask.

This year the Festival celebrates its 5th anniversary. And this time around the Russian partner of the Festival is a production company known as “Horosho Production.”

The program offers 8 full-length films, 4 shorts, two documentaries and 4 animated films – 18 screenings in all. In addition to the screenings, the program provides 7 informational programs: press conferences, round table discussions, master classes on directing, documentaries and casting. The organizers are planning a round-table discussion on co-production and pitching international projects.

All films will be shown in Russian with English subtitles. All the films in the program have been made since 2013 and many of them have received awards at other film festivals.

There are no competitions at the Russian Film Festival but there is an Audience Award. After each screening there will be a Q&A with the creators of the film.

This year’s program has many references to classical and modern literature. The Festival opens with the North American premiere of the film Two Women (2014) directed by Vera Glagoleva, based on the play by Ivan Turgenev, “A Month in the Countryside.” The renowned British actor Ralph Fiennes plays one of the main parts in the film.

The film Mirrors (2013) directed by Marina Migunova is dedicated to the famous Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva.

The Brothers Ch (2014) directed by Michail Ugarov shows a day in the life of the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov and his brothers.

A special place in the program is occupied by a screen adaptation of the story White Yagel (2014) by Anna Nerkagi. This film, made by the director Vladimir Tumaev, tells us about the lives of peoples living in the Arctic regions, which is very unusual and full of mysteries. This film won the Audience Award at the 36th Moscow International Film Festival in 2014.

The film The Grandfather of My Dreams (2014) directed by Aleksandr Strizhenov belongs to the genre of grotesque family comedy and raises the eternal question about how much we depend on the material well-being which suddenly comes out of nowhere.

There Will Be No Winter (2014) is a film made in the genre of fantasy by director Ilya Demichev. It boasts an all-star cast: Ksenia Rappoport, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Aleksandr Samoylenko and Sergey Koltakov.

The drama about a girl from an orphanage who grew up to become a model will close the Festival. Nine Days and One Morning (2014) was directed by Vera Storozheva, the famous film and television personality who was awarded at TEFI and at many other Russian and international festivals. Before the screening of this film the viewers are invited to an honorary session with the renowned Moldavian-Russian actress Svetlana Toma.

The festival will have a children’s day when little viewers will see the full-length animated fairy tale Ivan Tsarevitch and Grey Wolf-2 (2013) directed by Vladimir Toropchin and a full-length feature film The Mystery of Four Princesses (2014) by Oleg Shtrom.

The documentary program has two films in different genres. The film A Diary of a Drug Addict (2013) by Svetlana Stasenko is a social drama, and the film Voices. An Aria for the Fog (2014) by Elizaveta Shmakova is a portrait of a legendary opera diva. The documentary program will be concluded by a master-class on documentaries led by Svetlana Stasenko.

The short film program lists different films made by young directors. The film Unintentionally (2014) was made by Zhora Kryzhovnikov. His recent comedy Bitter! (2013) became one of the most successful films of the year. The short film Inspection (2014) made by Gala Suhanova tells a story of a dysfunctional family with children. The film Tonya is Crying on the Bridge of Lovers (2014) by Anton Kolomeets is about the generation of thirty-something year old and the passage of time; and in the film Shredder (2014) by Michael Dovzhenko we witness a highly unusual (but based on a true story) situation when the audience is asked to vote on killing a work of art.

Among the Russian delegation of cinematographers there are famous directors and actors such as Vera Glagoleva, Svetlana Toma, Aleksandr Strizhenov, Vera Storozheva, Marina Migunova and others; 14 people in total.

Tickets:
All tickets are free of charge. There is a $5 processing fee when you order tickets on the web site or pick them up at the entrance. It is advisable to register on the web site or by phone. The number of places is limited.

About the Russian Film Festival in Canada
The Russian Film Festival in Canada was founded by the TRFF (The Toronto Russian Film Festival) in 2009 which strives to popularize Russian cinema and increase the cooperation between the Canadian and Russian film industries. During the five years of its existence the Festival has acquired many admirers and viewers. Overall, about two hundred films of different genres and artistic directions have been shown during its annual screenings. The Festival has become a popular and anticipated event both in the Russian community as well as among English-speaking film-goers and film industry professionals.

In 2011 the TRFF started partnering up with Russian organizations. The Festival’s status then changed. Support from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation now made it possible to organize the Festival at a very high level, to invite large delegations from Russia and to present the audience with the very latest films.

The Junction Music Festival is a community-first festival, taking place September 20th, 2014 and highlights and celebrates world class and local talent that is constantly emerging from one of Toronto's most creative areas.

Coined as the emerging art and design neighbourhood of Toronto, this eclectic community anchored by Dundas St West and Keele Street is home to a festival celebrating local up-and-coming talent and rising stars. Move to the sounds of a collection of musical performances rocking a number of stages both day and night while discovering the celebrated food, drink and nightlife that makes the Junction a must visit Toronto destination.

Bring your family and friends and let the music guide you through the #JunctionTO!

Plus: #LoveJunctionTO Contest!

Tell the Junction BIA what you love about The Junction using the hashtag #lovejunctionto to win a pretty cool prize pack.
Submit entries via Instagram, Twitter, Email or fill in a ballot at one of our Info Booths.

( RAIN DATE: Saturday August 23rd )
at the Junction Train Platform ( Just East of Dundas & Pacific )
BYOC: BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR
Outdoor Cinema brought to you by Indie AleHouse

#LoveJunctionTO Contests!

1. PHOTO CHALLENGE

Tell what you love about The Junction using the hashtag #lovejunctionto to win a pretty cool prize pack. Submit entries via Instagram, Twitter or email us at thejunctionbia@gmail.com to submit your entry. Contest runs until August 24th (Midnight)

2. STREET TEAM ‘LOVE LETTER TO THE JUNCTION’ CONTEST

Tell our street team what you love about the Junction and win fabulous Junction Prizes. You can find the Junction BIA Street Team